Stupid question coming your way:

If you are receiving therapy, how do you know if it is CBT or just therapy, or is there any difference at all. I mean I am in therapy, but haven't really had any real acknowledgement that is what we are doing.

I know she(my therapist)is having me change things in my thinking, which I would assume is cognitive or possibly anal(with my thought pattern), but is all therapy CBT?

It is therapy my Psychiatrist wanted me to do, so I'm sure it will have to help eventually.

I had some real anxiety last visit with my Psychiatrist because he is only at the office nearest to me once a week, so I finally asked him if he is leaving, I am just sensing something is changing, he reassured me he just signed another years contract and if he were to leave it would be to get his own practice and he would give me 3 months notice, and I would get "dibs" on him if I wanted to keep him. So that eased my mind.

From my understanding CBT is the process of changing your thinking patterns as well as developing techniques to deal with your anxiety outside of therapy. If you're confused what type of therapy you're receiving just ask your therapist! That's a perfectly appropriate thing to ask. Above all your therapist wants you to feel comfortable and that you're receiving the help you need.

The goal of therapy and counseling is to give clients skills to cope with their problems outside of their sessions, but your therapist will never push you out too early.

I will ask her next week, she has given me some advice, but I am so early on in our therapy that maybe we haven't even reached the point that she has assessed me fully.

I understand that opening up, thus far, has been incredibly painful and awkward at times on getting the conversation started, but once we begin it is very fluent, unfortunately for the past two sessions we have been really stuck on one topic, which needs to be discussed, but I think other than her maybe asking me how I am doing in that area we will move on.

Thank you for your reply, I know with children they have things like "play therapy", I wasn't sure if CBT was a different form of therapy.

Usually most therapists do a combination of talk therapy...in which you will be talking about your experiences, feelings, thoughts/perceptions, ect...

...and then the CBT is added in as homework in the form of worksheets and journal type exercises.

My therapist would tend to zero in on one or two issues that he felt I needed to work through...stuff we had talked about in the session...and sent me home with homework that was focused on that, in the form of CBT exercises.

Hopefully in the next couple of sessions, you will become aware of how your therapist is going to be laying out things for your plan.

If you have any concerns or want to see things going in a different direction at anytime...speak up! You are the customer, and should feel like you have some say in how things proceed.:)

for me the therapy is me talking away. the therapist will chime in with a few pondering statements, then i have light bolb moments. sometimes i have then on the way in there on the bus!!! i love therapy. even the tough sessions. am not a fan of cbt. had a therapist talk for a few minutes then was at the white-board and i felt i was in a class room or something. that's just me. i wish you well.